Matatū is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

women's professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

team that competes in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition. Matatū represents the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

, specifically the regions covered by the Crusaders and the Highlanders. They are governed by the Crusaders. They were crowned champions of the

2023 Super Rugby Aupiki season The 2023 Super Rugby Aupiki season was the second season of Super Rugby Aupiki (known as Sky Super Rugby Aupiki for sponsorship reasons), a professional women's rugby union club competition organised by New Zealand Rugby. The competition ran from 2 ...

History

Name, logo and colours

The team’s name, logo and colours were officially unveiled on 12 October 2021. The name, logo and colours were created by a local artist and designer Morgan Mathews-Hale in partnership with Te Whaka Ako Limited. Matatū is a name gifted by Ngāi Tūāhuriri, which is one of five primary hapū of the Ngai Tahu iwi. The name Matatū, literally meaning "alert or vigilant", has been gifted to symbolise the teams tūmanawa (determined sacrifice), tūaho (legacy), tūhono (connections) and tūtira (unity) in representing Te Waka o Aoraki (the South Island).

Coaching staff

Blair Baxter was announced as Head Coach, Whitney Hansen and Tony Christie were appointed as the two assistant coaches. Whitney Hansen was named as Matatū's Head coach for the 2024 season.

Inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki season

Matatū played their first game against the Chiefs Manawa in a pre-season match ahead of the inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki season at the

Owen Delany Park Owen Delany Park is a multi-purpose sports stadium in Taupo, New Zealand. The main sports played there are Rugby and cricket, though several other sports are accommodated on a permanent basis and numerous other events on a one-off basis. Hist ...

in Taupō. Liv McGoverne kicked the teams first-ever points and Julia Gorinski scored their first try. Chiefs Manawa won the match 28–20. Matatū and Chiefs Manawa met five days later to play the inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki match on 10 March 2022. It was a historical moment for Matatū as this was their first team to take the field. It was a tense match but Chiefs Manawa edged Matatū 17–15 to win the second match between the teams. Matatū next played the

Blues Women The Blues Women's team (known as the Nib Health Funds, nib Blues Women for sponsorship reasons) is a New Zealand professional women's rugby union team based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition. History ...

in round 2 of the competition, they lost the game 10–21. In the final round they faced Hurricanes Poua at the

FMG Stadium Waikato FMG Stadium Waikato is a major sporting and cultural events venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity of 25,800. Four areas contribute to this capacity: The Brian Perry Stand holding 12,000, the WEL Networks Stand holding 8,000, the ...

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, they were defeated 8–16 and finished last overall.

2023

Matatū recorded their first Super Rugby Aupiki win after defeating

33–31 in the opening round of the competition. They met the Blues side again in the semi-finals and just beat them by three points, the final score was 26–23. They claimed their first title after defeating Chiefs Manawa 33–31 in the Grand final at the

Current squad

On 28 November 2023, the squad for the

2024 Super Rugby Aupiki season The 2024 Super Rugby Aupiki season will be the third season of Super Rugby Aupiki. The competition is expected to run from 2 March 2024 to 13 April 2024. Chiefs Manawa and Hurricanes Poua will kick off the season at the FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamil ...

was announced.

Coaching staff

* Head Coach: Whitney Hansen * Assistant Coach: Jessie Hansen (Mental Skills Coach) * Assistant Coach: Nic Groube (Strength and Conditioning Coach) * Video Analyst: Carlito Shalfoon * Physio: Jen Croker * Team Doctor: Anika Tiplady

Captain

Coach

Notes:

Official Super Rugby Aupiki competition matches only, including finals.

References

External links

Official website
{{Matatū squad 2021 establishments in New Zealand Super Rugby Aupiki Rugby union teams in New Zealand Rugby clubs established in 2021 Sport in Canterbury, New Zealand Women's rugby union teams